Car makers can look forward to increasing sales of factory fitted CNG cars in the national capital region (NCR). The trigger will be a ban on retrofitting of CNG kits by the Arvind Kejriwal government in Delhi.

The use of CNG as a fuel for cars, which is economical in comparison to both petrol and diesel, has been on the rise in recent years. Since all cars do not have the option of a factory fitted CNG kit, many car owners opt for retrofitting by purchasing a kit from the open market. The option of factory fitted CNG is costlier as well. Retrofitting costs Rs 35,000 to Rs 40,000 for a vehicle against Rs 60,000 to Rs 70,000 for a factory fitted CNG kit.

Early this year, cabs in Delhi were mandated by the Supreme Court to shift to CNG. Another factor that came as a boost for CNG use this year was the Delhi government's experiment with odd even norm for private cars in two phases (of fourteen days each) this year during which electric, hybrid and CNG vehicles were exempted.

However, the Delhi government has now decided to ban retrofitting till further orders. “There were allegations that some CNG kit manufacturers are supplying unapproved/uncertified and sub-standard CNG kits for retrofitting in the ‘in-use’ vehicles, thus cheating vehicle owners by charging them prices of original kits.

In this connection, all motor licensing officers (MLOs) are hereby directed not to endorse CNG fuel in vehicle registration certificates till further orders,” Delhi's deputy commissioner (Transport operations) Yogesh Pratap said in the order.

A Maruti Suzuki official said the development in Delhi will lead to an increase in sales of factory fitted CNG cars.